2014 Pilot Discussion

[snapthis]

Only in New York. Saw this today. Is Bloomberg involved?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2XZowYSQAj0

 

[nycbusdriver]

Only in New York. Saw this today. Is Bloomberg involved?

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2XZowYSQAj0

 
I don't know if Bloomberg is involved.  I don't pay a lot of attention to what Republicans do.

 

[Freighterguynow]

I believe in evolution.

  

Not when it come to pilot seniority integration methodology.

You must be a blast at parties.

 

[dariencc]

 
In the mid 90s the IRS's Financial Accounting Standards Board created new accounting rules for DB Pension Plans. These rule changes caused pension plans to become underfunded. With US Air struggling with the highest CASM in the industry and its network under assault by Southwest, other LCC's, and RJs the company stopped funding the DB Plan.

US Air CEO Seth Schofield saw the writing on the wall and he came to the MEC offering to freeze the DB Plan and create a DC Plan. This would have given the pilots an "A" and "B" Plan. 

However, this information was never public to the rank-and-file during ALPA's tenure because via "roll call" vote the MEC kept this information close held with all of the discussions taking place in "closed session." The Reps involved were the first set of people labeled the RC4, which is an acronym for "roll call 4." If my memory serves me correctly the RC4 was PIT Captain Rep John Davis, PIT F/O Rep Frank Starnes, PHL Captain Rep Bill McKee, and PHL F/O Rep Frank Kelly (later on John Brookman and Mark King were elected as PIT Reps during this time frame).

In closed session against the advice of ALPA National R&I, against the advice of the MEC R&I Committee lead by Rick Moseley, Rich Altar, and Mark Minor, against the advice of the Officers, and against the advice of the majority of the MEC Reps, who urged the MEC to take Schofield's offer, by "roll call" vote the RC4/UELs said "no" keeping the underfunded DB Plan in place.

Why? The plan had a lump sum option that would have provided a pilot about a $1.5 million lump sum payment or an annuity upon retirement and the RC4 wanted to preserve this option even though they risked losing the whole enchilada if there was an economic downturn. Then 911 happened, the company filed for a formal reorganization, and the DB Plan was terminated. The Plan was underfunded by about $600 million and the ATSB and Creditors Committee were not going to provide the company an additional $600 million to save the plan as part of US Air's Plan of Reorganization (POR). 

After USAPA was elected and ALPA confidentiality requirements no longer existed the truth came out with what the RC4 UELs did to the pilots in closed session without the rank-and-file knowing what really happened. It's sickening, but these four Reps were the beginning of the angry mob who took over the ALPA MEC and now run USAPA. And, I believe the same type of damage that was done to the retirement plan by the union's leaders is being done to the pilot group over the Nicolau Award, where a group of selfish people are taking actions to benefit a portion of the pilot group at the expense of others.

 
More disjointed USA320 idiocy.  He blindly accepts the self serving b.s. that his "sources" feed him, without the slightest challenge or thought.
 
You begin by discussing Seth Schofield's attempt in the "mid 90s" to freeze our pension.  You then link that denied request to the following, as if nothing happened in the interim:
 
<<<Then 911 happened, the company filed for a formal reorganization, and the DB Plan was terminated.>>>
 
Seth was long since gone when 911 happened.  Steven Wolf had taken over.  More to the point, in 1999 the Alpa MEC (with unanimous support from the reps) negotiated an early out, lump sum program to be capped at 300 pilots.  The pension fund was not in trouble at that time, years after the Schofield lead balloon that you reference.
 
If the fund had been in trouble in 1999 (which it was not), it would have been unconscionable for your beloved roll over 7 reps to support that lump sum program, would it not?
 
What killed the fund was the legal (under ERISA) but unethical decision by Wolf to postpone scheduled contributions to the employee pension funds in order to buy back almost 2 billion dollars of stock in anticipation of the United merger. 
 
Only then did 911 "happen."  And so went our underfunded DB plan.
 
Too bad you didn't sell more vitamins to your annoyed F/Os or to the enlisted troops over at the reserve base.  Then you wouldn't be sweating it.

 

[john john]

.

 

[Claxon]

Don't miss this facebook entry from "T-Bone the Christian biker."
 
<<< Off we go! PHX and then LGB and the Queen Mary....and no I don't mean one of our male flight attendants. >>>
 
 
Classy.[/

Anger appears to be very close to SNAPing......

 

[usabusdriver]

Forty years ago we had a presidential abuse of authority and he resigned as a result. Twenty years ago we impeached a president for violating his oath of office and lying to federal investigators, but the Senate refused to remove him. Now we have a president who repeatedly abused the powers of his office by ignoring the Constitutional separation of powers, and the house will likely be impotent to do anything about it.

Seems to be a trend here. What abuses of power will a president, regardless of party, twenty or forty years from now be able to get away with?

 
Bill lied in court.  It was a bit ironic.  He was in court because Paula Jones was suing him for alleged improprieties whist Governor of Arkansas. The Paula Jones team got wind of whispers about Monica, and when they asked Bill about relationships at the White House, he lied rather than come clean about Monica. Subsequently disbarred because of it I believe.

 

[luvthe9]

Don't miss this facebook entry from "T-Bone the Christian biker."
 
<<< Off we go! PHX and then LGB and the Queen Mary....and no I don't mean one of our male flight attendants. >>>
 
 
Classy.[/

Anger appears to be very close to SNAPing......

After that threat to the President I'd say he needs a psych eval.

 

[snapthis]

ame="Claxon" post="1097968" timestamp="1403819859"]
After that threat to the President I'd say he needs a psych eval.

Threat to the President? FUD

Keep chasing your tails LuvClaxon.

 

[Claxon]

I am sure Tony attracts lots of attention with his wacked ideas. After all, he is a Christian and a patriot. How he qualifies as a patriot is questionable. One would imagine he ended up where he is through multiple disqualifications from other aviation opportunities. Lots of similarities with Mark C. Doyal. AND, SNAPTHIS.......

 

[dariencc]

I am sure Tony attracts lots of attention with his wacked ideas. After all, he is a Christian and a patriot. How he qualifies as a patriot is questionable. One would imagine he ended up where he is through multiple disqualifications from other aviation opportunities. Lots of similarities with Mark C. Doyal. AND, SNAPTHIS.......

Only one way to know for sure. Strap him to a lie detector.

 

[nevergiveup]

 
 
You mean the president that took 6 years of his presidency to "evolve" on the issue of same-sex marriage, and came to that conclusion only AFTER more than 50% of the population had come to that conclusion?  That "promotion" of homosexuality?
 
 
It's called unfettered capitalism gone mad.  I agree with you.
 
 
 
 
Like Romneycare in Massachusetts, which was modeled on the the health care proposal from the Republican Party of the 1990s that would have forced people to buy health insurance?
 
 
 
Yes.  Bring back Ross.  He singlehandedly gave us President Bill Clinton, just as Ralph gave us President George W. Bush.   I can wait until the Tea Part declares its independence and starts running their own candidates.  
 

Yep.

 

[Claxon]

Dear Captain Prater:
After watching your video on the AAA-AWA Merger I now believe the best option for the AAA pilots to "throw ALPA off of both the AAA & AWA property". Jack Stephan's is a man of character and integrity and when he said, "I am disappointed with some of the miss-characterizations of our position as laid out by Captain Prater. I am even more upset with what was omitted with respect to our position regarding the Nicolau award. As I have repeatedly said, this is not just the case of the US Airways pilots not liking what they got. This is a case of our indignation over the fact that critical elements of ALPA Merger Policy were violated," well that is all I need!
After watching Captain Prater’s Video and listening to Captain Stephan’s chairman’s message I believe the best option for the entire pilot group to decertify ALPA.
At this point dumping ALPA will not only solve the Nicolau Award problem it could permit the East pilots to obtain a pay rasie and new contract sooner.
The benefits are:
1. Eliminate ALPA Merger Policy.
2. Gain control of a union for both the US Airways & America West pilots.
3. Permit the US Airways MEC to negotiate a pay raise outside of JNC talks.
4. Obtain a new comprehensive contract sooner once the Nicolau Award problem has been handled, otherwise, the only other option left is not agree to a JNC TA.
I believe the major benefit if this approach is that the East pilots will dominate future negotiations and create its own de-facto fences. One area to watch out for is an immediate effort to get a JNC TA by the AWA MEC and Doug parker before the East pilots get a chance to oust ALPA -- that's Parker's only move
Again, I believe the best option for the US Airways pilots is to kick ALPA off of both the US Airways and America West properties. Dump ALPA Now! Let the process begin.
For more information click here.
Regards,
USA320Pilot

Munn reminds me of Colonel Kurtz of Apocalypse Now.
Off the reservation, gone.
Rambling away in some dark room, connected by phone to Doyal and Traitor who lap up every word, nodding.
 
 
Posted 24 June 2007 - 08:47 AM

 

[MUTATIS MUTANDIS]

After reading all the emails especially the ones from hair plug, and the APA's F/o rep(moron) no one answers the simple question! APA if your so in the right go to "FEDERAL COURT" explain your rational and proceed. But guess what, they can't, DUI DOUG along with MR>. ELISE EBERWEINE, push for a   ball in their  own court solution, yes always laughable we started negotiations, look at the gains you are loosing because of USAPA and their politics(after all we negotiated a pilot contract in one week with APA, but failed our 2 groups and played them like a fiddle for 7 years) ! See a pattern here? heck STEVIE WONDER could. This push to negotiations is all about intimidation to USAPA, just like pleez give this email to all USAPA pilots! Bottom line the seniority issue was orchestrated so well on a smaller scale it has elevated itself to the major for front to the largest airline, APA reminds me of the dinosaurs and their brain capacity and sheep! Wait till the price of oil escalates due to the middle-east,  remember the stockholder meeting heckler, he was so on target! MM!

 

[dariencc]

 
Munn reminds me of Colonel Kurtz of Apocalypse Now.
Off the reservation, gone.
Rambling away in some dark room, connected by phone to Doyal and Traitor who lap up every word, nodding.
 
Posted 24 June 2007 - 08:47 AM
 
 

 
I remember when the old wailing wall in PIT ops "disappeared."   For years it was a bulletin board where people posted newspaper articles and other items that might be of interest to their fellow pilots.  Then all of a sudden there was nothing on there but the postings of one kook.
 
Soon guys were reporting late night sightings (no joke) of an obviously narcissitic wack job who took it upon himself to remove everything on the board and filll every inch with his own printed out airline industry dreck (e.g., Frontier adds Bozeman to Network).  Anything tacked up by any other of our roughly 1000 PIT based pilots was soon thrown in the trash.  This was done on no authority other than that imagined by this lunatic.
 
Colonel Kurtz is an apt but generous description.  Kurtz was nuts, but he was a real man.